


Menstrual Misunderstandings

by lunadiane



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Female Keith (Voltron), Gen, Gender or Sex Swap, Genderbending, Menstruation, alien mom learns about periods, im so sorry for the shitty title, keith gets her first period basically and some family fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-21 16:22:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15561696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunadiane/pseuds/lunadiane
Summary: Krolia is not prepared for the day when her half-human daughter starts bleeding from between the legs.





	Menstrual Misunderstandings

**Author's Note:**

> I'm always down for aliens learning about and being horrified by human things, and what else could be better than Krolia not knowing what's going on when Keith gets her period?

It was a bad day when Keith woke up.

 

Without the dread of having to go to school, she didn’t even know summer vacations could have bad days. The moment she woke up, blinding sunlight forced her eyes open and a vague discomfort greeted her. The desert heat she was usually accustomed to was an oppressive, humid blanket, especially with her actual blankets tangled around her legs. She pushed slightly damp hair out of her face and groaned when her fingers brushed against gross sweat-soaked sheets.

 

The day got much worse after Keith had shoved off her blankets and stood up.

 

Instantly, the vague discomfort narrowed down to her stomach and a dull ache flared up that made her grab her middle. She groaned and trudged to the bathroom, shoulders hunched over and arms still wrapped around herself.

 

With a huff, Keith plopped onto the toilet with her shorts around her ankles, abdomen still churning. What gives? She definitely hadn't eaten anything weird lately, Mom hadn't tried to cook anything beyond sandwiches or instant noodles.

 

It felt as if her inner organs were curling into themselves, yet it didn’t even hurt that much. It barely reached the level of pain she'd experienced when she'd had a bad fall from the speeder and broke her arm. None of the searing, white-hot pain she remembered or the dull soreness of the untouched cast- the ache was the equivalent of a low, droning, annoying background noise, not too much to really be painful, but just enough to be constantly aggravating.

 

Keith kicked a leg out in agitation, hoping that would alleviate the ache somehow.

 

Blinking sleep from her eyes, Keith glimpsed red between her legs, and trickles of crimson streaming down her thighs to drip into the water below. Red and brown spotted her shorts.

 

She felt each muscle in her face contort as her eyes burst wide open.

 

“MOOOOMM!”

 

* * *

 

  


Krolia's instincts kicked into overdrive at the wail. It was a pup’s call for their mother, full of fear and panic, one that she had never heard Keith make until now.

 

 _Keith_ _was in danger._

 

The chair she was sitting in toppled backward as she snapped upright and bolted toward the location of the sound, her yellow eyes flashing. Scenarios raced in her mind - a natural predator? The desert was home to several lizards but Keith had a knife on her nightstand and they were small enough for her to handle. Krolia raced up the stairs. A poisonous snake? They were usually docile until provoked, unless if it had wandered unsuspectingly into a human home -

 

“Keith!” Krolia cried out, both hands on the bathroom’s doorframe as she came face to face with her pale, terrified daughter. “What happened? Are you in danger?!”

 

There was no poisonous snake, and nothing sharp had embedded itself into her Keith.

 

It was worse. Her pup looked at her with scared eyes and stammered and Krolia caught sight of her daughter's fresh blood staining her thighs and legs, bleeding from within.

 

“MOM,  IM BLEEDING!”

 

“BLEEDING?! WHY ARE YOU BLEEDING?! DID YOU CUT YOURSELF?” Krolia barked out, or tried to, her shaky voice coming out more like a shriek.

 

“NO,  I DIDN'T - I DON'T KNOW!”

 

“YOU'RE BLEEDING INTERNALLY! OR IS THIS SOME SORT OF HUMAN DISEASE?” Krolia unconsciously stooped into a fighting stance, legs bent and arms ready. She could not panic. She was trained to be calm in all situations, especially life-threatening ones. She had certification to perform emergency surgery. However,  she was not well versed in human diseases, especially those which could infect pups. Internal bleeding between the legs - she must remember something -

 

_Prevent lacerations in vital organs at all costs. Consequences: organ rupture, internal bleeding, system failure and shutdown, sepsis setting in, death imminent -_

 

“ARE YOU GOING TO DIE, KEITH?”

 

She was panicking.

 

“I'M GOING TO DIE?!” Keith whimpered, her violet eyes large and round and scared, her scent turning sour with the metallic tang of human blood.

 

“NO ONE IS DYIN’ ON MY WATCH.” boomed a deep voice, and Krolia felt a fraction of relief. Keith’s father is here and he’s fully human. He can explain what is going on and if Keith needs emergency surgery.

 

“What’s wrong with Keith?!” Krolia immediately demanded as he entered the bathroom. “Why is she bleeding from between her legs?!”

 

The determined, anxious look on his face evaporated into pure surprise at the sight of his daughter, and his expression scrunched up into sheepish amusement. He rubbed his neck, and the tension in the room seemed to dissipate in his exhaled laughter. Krolia’s gaze didn't waver. This may be a positive sign but he had yet to explain.

 

Looking at Keith’s confused face, he chuckled “I’m gonna haf’ta tell ya ‘bout the birds an’ the bees, ain’t I?”

 

“What does this have to do with Earth fauna?” Krolia pressed, frowning.

 

“Nothing, it’s - ” He waved his hands around. “This is completely natural. For humans. Didn’ they tell ya ‘bout this in school?”

 

“Maybe. I don’t know.” Keith groused, pulling the edge of her shirt down to cover herself as much as possible. Okay, she _did_ remember being told about girls bleeding and stuff, but never that much in detail. Her face was red from both her parents seeing her half-naked in the bathroom. No matter what her parents insisted, she wasn’t a baby anymore.

 

“We’ve gotta get to the store to get ya some pads.” Dad continued. “Ya got ya period, Keith. It means you’re ready to become a mother.”  

 

Krolia stiffened, hands curling into fists. “That early?! But she’s only fourteen! She should only be maturing at the age of twenty decaphoebs-”

 

“Sounds about right for a human girl to get her period.”

 

“She is way too young to have children!” She snapped.

 

“O’ course, sweetheart.” Dad soothed. “It’s just her body telling her she can get pregnant, nothing more.”

 

Krolia bristled at the idea. “I’ll just make a quick trip out to get ya stocked up.” He said, turning toward the door. “Ya wanna be ready for next month!”

 

“Next month?!”

 

* * *

 

  


A jumbo box of pads shoved into the bathroom cabinet, a shower, a change of clothes and a fresh pad stuck to her underwear later, Keith was curled up on the ratty couch in the living room with a hot water bottle wedged between her legs, having managed to find a position where the bulky pad wasn't chafing uncomfortably against her skin.

 

The electric fan directed at Keith hummed on full speed. The steady heat of the water bottle helped with her aches, but made the summer blaze much worse. Keith sulked as Krolia, seated next to her, patted her hair comfortingly.

 

“This stinks.” She grumbled. “So Galra don’t have periods?”

 

“No, which is why I was so alarmed.” Krolia gathered the edge of her red tank and dabbed the sweat off Keith’s brow. “We have moon cycles and simply absorb the lining of our reproductive organs back into our bodies. It it much more efficient that way.”

 

“Lucky.”

  



End file.
